The new AWHS Girls Varsity Field Hockey team had their first ever game Thursday, Sept. 9, against Redwood High School, followed the next afternoon by a game against Berkeley High School. Despite losses in both games, the score of 0-2 against Berkeley was the team’s second best in AWHS history. 

The AWHS team is full of first-time and freshman field hockey players who’ve only had a few practices. 

“We have a really young, inexperienced team. We didn’t have a team last year so we can only go up from here, and we have been,” said AWHS junior Jada Shore. 

However, not everyone is new to the sport. Team captain and AWHS senior Greta Huebner was on the team before COVID-19 and is excited to get back into it. 

“It’s really nice to use my experience as a player to be a good team captain and help guide some of the new players in the sport,” Greta said.

The team has already had their share of injuries: players have been hit by sticks and balls and suffer from soreness. “This is really fun, but nobody told me how painful it would be!” said AWHS freshman Grace Garvey.

This is coach Alex Gauna’s first year coaching the Field Hockey team. He is not new to coaching, however, as he is also the coach of the Girls Varsity Lacrosse team. Lacrosse and Field Hockey have similarities such as the fast pace, constant running, and netted goals protected by goalies. Gauna is proud of the progression of the team, and grateful for all the support the team is receiving. 

“The support that I’ve gotten as a new coach from our school and all the other field hockey teams in MCAL and the way we’ve all worked together to make sure the games happen and the competition has good sportsmanship, I just can’t thank the other coaches enough,” Gauna said. “It’s more than just the teams competing, it’s a community of scholar athletes coming together to grow the sport in our area.” 

Gauna and the players feel that the team can only grow from here. With only two games and a few practices up their sleeves, they’re gearing up for the new season.